


Hope for the Future

by KeeperofSeeds



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Next Avengers, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Artificial Intelligence, Avengers Family, Canon-Typical Violence, Earth-555326, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting Together, Hope, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Parent-Child Relationship, Post-Canon Fix-It, Team as Family, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-15 14:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7225663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeeperofSeeds/pseuds/KeeperofSeeds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sequel/fix-it of the Next Avengers animated movie.</p><p>After Ultron has been defeated the next task for the Next Avengers is to begin clean up on Ultron City and seek out other survivors. Things take an unexpected turn when they discover that Ultron had kept their parents prisoners all these years instead of killing them.</p><p>CURRENTLY ON HIATUS</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**_The past_** **. New York.**  


How can things have gone downhill so fast? Tony hovered over what was left of Manhattan, eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of another threat from Ultron. He and the Vision had taken down two drones so far, but now the Vision was down on the ground level battling against his creator, trying to buy his team some time to tend to their wounded.

Smoke rises from the buildings below. Fires and crumbled buildings and the distant sound of a car alarm are the background noise for the battle below. The battle that’s been raging on now for almost three days. The casualties the first day alone were staggering. Ultron had began the attack in midtown and had been working his way North, destroying anything in his path. His helper bots following in his wake to pick of stragglers and set up a perimeter.

Tony hasn’t said anything aloud yet, but he’s starting to lose hope. At best, he’s begun to think that all they can do in limit the damage as best they can before retreating to fight another day.

  
Things are going downhill fast. Ultron isn’t letting them gain any ground. And while Ultron can continue to fight all day and all night, simply put, the Avengers can’t. They need time. Time to tend to their injuries and time to regroup. But time is one thing they don’t have.

Hank is down. All Tony can see is the top of his head and the curve of a giant shoulder between buildings. The fact that he hasn’t returned to normal size is bad. Tony assumes Natasha is down as well. He can’t see her but he heard the breathless curse and the ugly crunch of her being throw again something metallic sounding before her comm went dark.  Vision gains another gash in his outer skin as he gives up on his laser and switches to hand to hand. Glancing blows off Ultron’s adamantium enhanced armor ring out. One of his arm joints won’t stop sparking but Vision keeps up a steady assault on his creator, allowing the others a chance to move into position.

 T’Challa, Cap & Jan are covered in grime and bruises, but holding steady. Still…things look grim. Ultron has been trying to keep them at a distance this time. Every time they get close a blow or a thrown bit or rubble forces them to retreat. Tony keeps his heat vision on from his position in the sky; marking his teammates movements in primary colors and auditory feedback.

Clint was ground level on last check in, cautiously picking through debris to refill his quiver. He’s nursing a bloody gash high on his thigh but refused to leave the team to get it properly sutured. His harsh breathing fills the dead air as Tony waits for his next signal. They’ve been coordinating their attacks, hoping a barrage of hits from both above and below will throw Ultron off balance enough to let someone like T’Challa or Vision get in close and access the panel in his neck. Or just to decapitate him. Tony’s really not picky anymore. Any way they can end this war.

 

 Local military had evacuated what was left of the city and had retreated to a blockade on the state line more than 72 hours ago now. SHIELD has been silent for the past 48 hours. With communications down all over, the Avengers truly were the final line of defense. With no way to call for back up they’d drawn their metaphorical line in the sand and held their ground.  
  
The Avengers own comms were spottier than they should be. Ultron hasn’t gotten them offline yet but the they are running out of time. The time between static on the channel grows shorter and shorter. Eventually, Ultron will find a way in and corrupt the codes.

Tony himself is wearing the mark 4 armor. He didn’t want to risk having Ultron get access to any of the more recent models. It was difficult. He’d forgotten how much longer it used to take to say and confirm each command aloud. He was almost out of rockets and his left hand repulsor was acting up after having that hand trapped when a building had partly collapsed on his side. He was pretty sure he’d at least bruised his ribs and at least 2 fingers were broken. Both of those things as well as the respulor occasionally sputtering out making flight stabilization harder.  
  
Ultron was relentless. Pushing them back, forcing them to retreat farther and farther.

Cap and Panther has regrouped behind a pile of rubble on Ultron’s left side.

Tony sees Jan attempting to sneak up behind Ultron while he’s engaged with the Vision. A quick glance confirms that Hawkeye is still making his way up a high rise so Tony opens a channel to his team.

“Wasp, wait for my signal.  Vision keep doing what you’re doing. The rest of us, let’s keep Ultron’s attention off his 6.”

He barely waits for Jan’s conformation before he dives down for a fly by. The quick repulsor blast doesn’t do any visible damage against Ultron’s new adamantium enhanced armor but it does what he needed it to. Jan sees the opportunity and takes it, firing a steady stream of her stinger blasts at the panel on the back of Ultron’s neck.

Just as Ultron is about to turn the Vision is back, pummeling at his joints at an effort to give Jan more time.

He hears T’Challa’s normally soft voice ring out in encouragement of Jan.

She manages to grab on to a chink in the armor and Tony feels a small rush of triumph. Maybe…just maybe they _could_ end this.

But as soon as that thought is formed he sees the unmistakable red light from Ultron’s body glow brighter.

Cap, who had been edging around the battle towards where Natasha had fallen, sees it too.

“BACK! EVERYONE GET TO COVER NOW!”

Tony can only stare in horror from his position in the sky. He can tell they aren’t going to make it far enough away. Equations cycle in his mind, the blast radius too large and too dangerous, cover too far away.

In slow motion he sees the explosion go off. The concussive blast of it sending Jan tumbling head over heels towards a pile of wrecked cars.  T’Challa had tried to leap up to the 3rd floor landing of an abandoned office building and the screech of claws across metal grated across the comms as he dug in, bracing against the force. The building shuddered but didn’t collapse. Cap had been running for cover behind a slab of concrete and had been sent flying past it. Only the Vision remained standing. And he didn’t waste time waiting for backup before flying north, trying to draw Ultron farther away. Give them time to pull together. Tony could only trust he could hold on by himself.  
  
Damn Ultron. And damn his ability to infect technology through touch. Despite the disastrous outcomes in previous battles Tony hated being confined to the sky. Hated not being able to directly fight. To be forced to watch his teammates get battered from afar…it never got any easier.

“Avengers report!” Tony barked in his ear piece, eyes frantically scanning for his team mates.

The silence lingers, static the only answer from his comm. He can see the red and yellow blur that is Cap’s heat signature stirring while half buried below a pile of rubble. T’Challa climbs back through the demolished office and his mask turns towards the sky until he finds Tony, and raises a hand, the other wrapped around his ribs as he takes heavy breaths.

 

“Change of plans everyone,” Cap’s voice come through first, sounding winded. “Panther make your way south. You and Hawkeye coordinate * _static*_ -attack from behind. If you can raise Vision on comms, inform him as well. Iron Man, you do a fly over where Wasp was last seen and try to find her. Get as close as you need to. We’ll try to keep Ultron’s attention this way.”

Tony didn’t reply and Cap squints up, trying to catch a glimpse of red in the sky, hoping the message got through.

“Iron Man, report.”

“Cap…Steve,” Tony’s voice filtered though, “things aren’t looking too good from up here. How long can we keep this up? We need to pull back. Hank and Natasha _need_ medical attention and every time the EMTs get close something else explodes or collapses, forcing them back. We don’t even know where Jan’s ended up or if she’s okay.”

Steve sighs. Finally letting the weight of the situation sneak in and settle on his shoulders. He knows Tony is right, but he doesn’t want to admit defeat. Not yet. They’ve been fighting for too long to let Manhattan/New York fall into Ultron’s grasp. He creeps into better cover behind an overturned truck while making sure his comm is on a private line to Tony’s before replying.

“Not yet, Tony. We can push him back. We _have_ to push him back. Just a little farther.”

Their debate is interrupted by Hawkeye’s voice, echoing from both their comms and over the distance across the battle field.

“BACKUP, WE NEED BACK NOW!” The shouts send feedback screeching through the armor.

Cap sprints out from behind the truck without a second thought, eyes scanning until he sees the red glow of Ultron through the haze of dust.

He’s got T’Challa by the throat and is holding him aloft.  Sparks fly as vibranium claws drag against Ultron’s outer shell but he doesn't have the strength or angle to grip properly enough to puncture.

Ultron barely glances Cap’s way before sending another beam towards him. The blow ricochets off the shield and hits a nearby building instead. More dusts from the high rise falls down around them.

Hawkeye chooses this moment to send another arrow down. It hits Ultron in the leg joint, piercing the outer skin.

Tony has never been more glad that Hawkeye convinced him of the need for vibranium tipped arrows.

Ultron only has a chance to glance up, tracking the arrow back to its point of origin before it explodes. He throws Panther’s body down to grab at the joint, sparks flying.

“ _You shall pay for that Archer.”_ Ultron grates out before sending a laser towards the building  Hawkeye had holed up in. The upper floors begin to crumble. One after another, like a set of vertical dominoes. Tony can only look on and hope like hell that Clint’s leg was good enough that he could get out in time.

To make things even worse he hears the hum of one of Ultron's drones. The last thing they need is a bomb drop on top of everything. He takes off, flying over the still crumbling building scanning the horizon through the dust and smoke until he sees it. The armor highlights it in red.

_incoming hostile. Approaching vector F, 70mph. Estimated arrival in-_

He dismisses the stats. He can't wait for it to arrive. Using one of his precious remaining rockets, he could knock it out of the sky. If he's fast enough. The drones aren't sentient luckily and are easily taken down with enough force. But they are small and easy to miss on radar.

He ignores the echoing booms in the distance behind him and rises another 500 feet. Hopefully far enough above the thing's radar, but close enough for his rocket to do its job.

He bobs in the air as his right repulsar chooses that moment to stutter.

"No no no! Not now." He cuts comms and turns off all but the most basic stats on his HUD. Re-routing some power to the damaged gauntlet should help him keep a steady aim.

It's coming closer now.

One good shot is it should take. The drone is speeding along, unaware of anything but its destination.

He takes a deep breath in and holds it, raising his arm, hoping like hell he's high enough that the small noise of shifting plates doesn't draw attention.

The drone flys underneath him and on the exhale he shoots.

The drone explodes, pieces raining down into the rubble below.

Tony doesn't have time to celebrate. He can hear the battle still raging and after confirming the drone lacks a self repair function he punches it back to the battle.  

*

He re-routes power back as he flies, yelling out commands in frustration when they aren't executed fast enough for his liking. He at least needs comms and heat signature back up. What he wouldn't give for Jocasta's assistance now.

"Finally!"

His HUD lights up the battle field and he scans the debris.

He find Vision first. He is back in the fight, flying through fallen buildings as Ultron takes pot shots at him. Cap is the next to show up on his HUD. A splotch of bright red, alternating between dragging a bleeding T’Challa behind cover and sending careful shots towards Ultron. The bullets ricochet off harmlessly. Barely an annoyance. Ultron brushes them off like flies.

Tony doesn’t know what it is about this exact moment, but suddenly it hits him. Like a punch to the gut the realization…they can’t win this. The tide of the battle has been turning but in this moment he feels the illusion of hope slide away. The team, in all likelihood, won’t survive this fight. They all knew the risks of these fights, hell, they’d known them for years. But none have ever felt as hopeless as this battle. Tony is only still airborne by virtue of luck and quick thinking. And Cap’s forceful order to stay out of reach of Ultron. But looking down he’s overwhelmed with the amount of death and destruction. He can’t stand back any longer. To hell with Ultron and his virus. He was willing to risk losing this armor. Willing to risk his life if he could distract Ultron longer enough and convince his teammates to live and fight another day. They need to retreat and get back to their kids. The Mansion had a sturdy safe house, but Ultron was pushing them closer and closer ever day. Better to lose the battle but live to protect the children. The war would continue. Manhattan could be retaken. But not if the Avengers fell today.

 

Tony opens the comms, “Avengers, if you can still *scritch* hear me, I am going to attempt to draw Ultron off. I’ll give you as much time as I can to pull back. Repeat, all Avengers, pull back.”  
  
Tony pauses, giving time for the order to sink in. He hovering above the battle eyes darting back and forth from where Ultron and T’Challa, favoring his right leg but back up throwing punch after punch, claws out, are trading blows to where the small group of EMTs he can see are finally making their way to Natasha.

Just before he’s about to dive down, Cap’s voice rasps through the static.  
  
“No…stand down Tony.”  
  
“Cap. We _need_ to retreat. To regroup. I can distract him long enough for you all to pull back. EMTs have just made it through, they'll help. Trust me.”  
  
What was Cap thinking? They needed him. Hovering above the city wasn't helping. Being forced to stand by and watch as his friends struggled to get up time after time. Cap had to know they couldn’t do this much longer.

 He tracked Cap’s heat signature, impatiently listening to the grunts of Cap moving pieces of rubble from the pile he’d crashed through, before he crouched down behind the makeshift cover and spoke up again.  
  
“I _do_ trust you Tony. That’s why I’m ordering you to retreat. Your armor is damaged. I can tell you’ve been having troubles staying steady and we can’t risk Ultron infecting it." A quiet exhale crackles through his speaker. "We’re losing."  
  
Tony was silent. Struck dumb by Cap’s admission. Unable to muster up a hopeful lie. It was one thing to believe it himself, it was another to hear Captain America admit the same out loud.  
  
“Please Tony. You have the advantage. _We’ll_ distract Ultron, you retreat and go after the kids. Make sure they're safe. We trust you. Take care of them.”

  
“But Steve-”  
  
“Go! We’ll hold the line. If we escape, we’ll contact you. Protocol Delta 9.  
  
Tony couldn’t move, couldn’t _think._ No…not him. He wasn’t supposed to be the last one standing. He’d never expected this when they’d met in the Mansion’s war room just a few weeks ago and had made that promise.  
  
T’Challa’s scream interrupted his racing thoughts. Vision’s exclamation of horror followed quickly after. Tony could see the bright light of his laser ricocheting off Ultrons’ armor, and Cap took off, a streak of red heat across the HUD’s screen.  
  
“Tony now! GO!”  
  
And Tony gave one last look at his team below. Scattered and bruised, they were spread out among fallen buildings. Only three would be left to hold off this evil.  
  
And Tony left them. Fighting every instinct, he turned tail and fled, tracing a shaky trajectory north. Away from his team, his friends, away from everything he’d know and become familiar with. Tony retreated. Leaving his friends to face their death. Cap had made the call. But that didn’t make it any easy to accept.  
  
He had to stay focused. Who knew how many sentinels or drones Ultron would still have flying around, looking to take down military aircrafts. He blinked, holding back the tears. Pushing aside his grief, his hopelessness, he held on to Cap’s last words. Onto Cap’s belief in him. He had to do this. This last task that had been entrusted to him by his team.  
  
And so he flew on into the unknown.  On to the safe house where his friends' children waited. Not knowing they would never see their parents again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this plot bunny sitting in my word folder for AGES now and after an attempt to write this for a Camp NaNo event I figured I might as well post some of what I have so far. There are so many ways this fic could go and I'm still figuring out what direction I want to take it. (ex: I'm pondering Steve/Tony/Natasha or just Steve/Tony and also still trying to figure out how to balance original team feels and also the re-acquainting of the kids with their parents and all the emotions that would entail.) So anyway, this should be a fun ride! Come flail with me because Next Avengers (esp Old Man Tony Stark) was wild and needs more love from fandom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Now**

 

Ultron had been defeated. Somehow, against all the odds, the Avengers children had done what their parents could not. Tony still couldn’t believe it. Even when staring out at the damage left behind. Robots parts scatted across the valley, dents in the mountain side from the fight and craters on the ground from the Hulk’s giant green feet. Minor damage in the overall scheme of things really. It could have been so much worse. Getting the Hulk involved had turned the tide of the battle. Tony didn’t think he’d ever been so happy to see Bruce’s angry alter ego before. Not only for the help he’d been in the battle, but as another reminder that he wasn’t alone.

Now, they were three.

Him, Vision, and Bruce. The Avengers lived on through them. Even with Hulk running away it was good to know he and Betty had at least survived. Not to mention having word from Thor. It had been so long since he’d felt any sort of hope for the future.

To have proof that he wasn’t the last Avenger…hanging on alone, past his prime, surviving only by pure stubbornness. No longer.

 Their legacy lived on now.

And how amazing was it, that after years of lost hope, the children had been the ones to find Bruce. To force him out of his self imposed exile and get him to deliver the final blows to Ultron. Tony’s heart still raced after seeing Thorrin disappear into the sky. He’d thought she was lost. The idea of her floating among the stars and debris brought back uncomfortable feelings from his own past. He knew the terror of free floating alone in all that darkness. Space could be beautiful, the Avengers had been on missions to too many worlds to admit otherwise, but underneath the awe of being surrounded by so much beauty there was also that fear. To know how truly small you were in that great big blackness.  To think of Thorrin seeing those things, feeling anything similar to the fear and despair he’d felt, had been terrifying. To see her now, in armor so reminiscent of Thor’s, smiling and alive and once again the confident warrior she so often pretended to be, had proven herself to be,  it brought a smile to his bruised face.

Now that he thought about it, his whole body felt like one giant bruise. Not to mention the damage from his time as Ultron’s captive. He took a moment to tighten the bandages on the hastily wrapped burns on his chest and halfheartedly wiped dust off his clothes. The adrenaline from their escape and subsequent battle was running out.  Time to start figuring out what would be their next move.

It was harder to see in the children but no doubt they were just as exhausted by this chain of events.  Or maybe not. Maybe he was just getting old. Wasn’t that a depressing thought?

James and Azari were clutter around Thorrin inspecting both her new armor and her. Pym fluttered around them, exclaiming over the battle. Tony caught bits and pieces of his fast paced speech.

“…and that time you slid down the mountain?! AH-MAZING! And did you see me dodge that robo-Wasp? Oh man! That was crazy!”

At least Hulk’s threatening message hadn’t bothered him for long.

 Barton hung back a little from the group, leaning on his bow and smiling at Thorrin behind her back. But when he caught Tony’s eye he straightened and spoke up.  

“There’s still probably about 10,000 of Ultron’s bug robots crawling around the city, unless there is some kind of convenient kill switch in that head.  I think they could do with a few arrows in their heads.”  
  
The smirk on his face was like another punch in the gut. It was like looking into the past and right at Clint.  
  
The children grin at each other, the thrill of battle not yet over, but Tony cut them off before they could get too excited. And before he got too lost in the past. He’d been doing that more and more often lately. He needed to focus. To make a new plan.

“No. Not today. It’ been,” he rubs a hand over his eyes, “a tough day for all of us. We need rest. We need supplies. Tonight we’ll see what’s left of Bruce’ cave and set up camp there. Tomorrow we’ll begin to make plans for the future.”

* * *

   
  
**A few days later. On route to Ultron City**  


Tony woke up to the sounds of hushed voices having what sounded like an argument.

He pulled the blanket he’d brought from Bruce’s up tighter and tried ignore the voices but the jet’s seats didn’t leave much room for comfort and his battered body protested the change in position.

He couldn’t decide what creaked more, the old tech on this jet…or his bones.

The voices paused, waiting to see if they’d woken him.

“Don’t stop on my account.” He mumbles slowly stretching out. His spine lets out a satisfying crack.

“Gross” Pym/Henry said wrinkling his nose. His dislike of any sort of joint cracking was well known.

Tony didn’t have to wait long for the answering _crack_ from James’ twisting his neck.

“UGH! Stop it you guys. Thorrun,” he turned to plead, “make James stop.”

Thorrun paused in her conversation with Barton, reached across the aisle and punched James in the arm. Hard.

As squabbling broke out Tony unwound his legs from the blanket and headed up to the front of the plane where Vision was monitoring  their progress. They’d gone back to the Artic hideout first to make some quick repairs and gather up anything important that had been left behind on that first panicked escape. Luckily all Tony had to do was start the repair process and Vision, head re-attached and re-charged would continue mending on his own as they flew back towards the City.

“Our destination is approaching in approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.” Vision announced as Tony edged into the co-pilot's seat.  

"Good. That should give us enough time to make up some basic strategies."

"Tony, it has been approximately 64 hours since you were held by Ultron. " He turned towards Tony, continuing, "that is not the optimal amount of time for letting bruised ribs heal." He pauses and tilts his head, eyes scanning what small parts of Tony's body were visible from behind the layer of blanket.  
"I will not mention any other likely injuries based off my observations."

"Good." replied Tony, "I'm fi-

"Fine is not an objective term regarding one's health." interrupted Vision.

Tony sighed. "I'm well enough to fight. Or at the very least to infiltrate the City. All we need to do today is get in and find some place to camp down. I'm thinking meeting up with Barton's group of Scavangers might be the best idea going forward. We could use every hand their willing to give. And based on what the kids told me, their knowledge of the ins and outs of the City will come in real handy."

Vision was silent as he stared at him. How an android managed to perfect such a judgmental stare was beyond Tony.

"Look my Armor isn't even combat ready. Ultron probably has pieces of the Mark XV hanging in his trophy room and the one I picked up from the base needs all sorts of maintenance before I' m comfortable enough to even try running and jumping through Ultron City, let alone flying around taking on drones. Not that I couldn't have it ready in a day or two…" He trailed off.

"I shall endeavor to take us on the route of least resistance," Vision said, ignoring that last bit. "My last trip was quite informative. With the new information I discovered and with the assistance of Francis Barton, I feel confidante in our success."

"The lack of Ultron here to direct drones at us will probably help a little." Tony grinned, before continuing in a more somber tone. "Can you believe it Vision? After all this time. He's finally gone. They did it. These kids," he gestured over his shoulder at the laughing children in the back of the jet, "these kids did what we couldn't. So many dead…can you even imagine how proud their parents would be? I can just imagine Cap's face. And Jan, her smile so big, even in Wasp form…" He trailed off. Melancholy creeping in to color the feel of their victory.

Vision reached across and placed a tattered hand on his shoulder. "I am glad that we did not lose you, my old friend."

Tony smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes

"Nah. You know I'm much too stubborn to die. You're stuck with me."

"Indeed."


End file.
